Dead Guys Shouldn't Come Back to Life, Especially During the Holidays!
by Murayama-Tsuru
Summary: Series of Oneshots that will be updated during the holidays...maybe...don't know how long I can make this theme last...not many Gintama characters have died...Anyway, the seventh story is about Gin, Kagura, ghosts, and a silly Shinigami. It's Obon time and Gin is plagued with whisperings of a supernatural nature. Will be labled complete until I feel like updating again.
1. On Hosen and Hinowa

**Hello again or for the first time, Murayama Tsuru here. I present to you a New Year's oneshot…what? It's the end of January? Yeah…I know…but I didn't get to writing this until now. So, without further ado, here it is ^_^ I hope y'all enjoy.**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama; it belongs to Sorachi Hideaki-Sensei.**_

His eyes opened slowly, looking up into a sky that was quite unfamiliar to him. After a moment, though, he began blinking rapidly as the sun shone brightly and harshly into his eyes. He groped around for his umbrella but found it wasn't there. He then remembered that he didn't need that large umbrella he once used so proudly anymore; his old enemy could no longer harm him after all.

But even still, the sun in his eyes was getting rather annoying so he put his hand in front of his face to block the light. And he blinked in surprise once again, his hand was translucent, so it didn't block out much of anything.

'What the hell?' he thought, how the hell had this happened? The sun must have done more damage than he thought while he'd been…oh, right. He'd died some time ago at the hands of the Hyakka leader and that silver-haired idiot. That only left one question in Hosen's mind now, 'What was he doing back in this world that he'd thought he'd left behind. What was so important that he'd been dragged out of eternal slumber?'

The old, buff ghost of a Yato sat up slowly and stretched, not feeling anything crack from disuse, but still enjoying the sensation of the movement anyway; it had been a long time since he'd used his muscles in any way at all, really.

Hosen then stood up and heard a surprised gasp. He turned in the direction of the noise, head cocked in confusion, why in the world would anyone come visit his grave? He never imagined he'd been very popular here on earth to warrant that kind of visit. But the scene before him melted away his confusion and replaced it with something akin to repulsion and fury.

Seeing Umibouzu at his grave was not all that surprising. The may have had opposing views and been on opposite sides in a battle, but that didn't mean they weren't…friends of a sort. But seeing the man's arms extending down to the area of his crotch and a liquid (that he couldn't smell being a ghost) issuing from approximately that same area made a very dark look cross over Hosen's features.

With a raised eyebrow and something darker than a scowl, Hosen said, "Ah, Umibouzu it's been a long time, hasn't it. Might I ask why you're…desecrating my grave?"

After a tense pause, Umibouzu looked down and a hand came up to smack his forehead in awkward embarrassment, "It's not what you think, Hosen. I was just pouring some Sake on your grave for the new year." The balding Yato then brought up the bottle of Sake as proof.

Eyebrow still raised, Hosen asked skeptically, Really now, is that so? But from my internal sensors, it seems to be the _end_ of January. Don't you think you're a little late?"

"Tch," Umibouzu huffed, "that's not my fault. I was in space up until a few days ago. Also, the author didn't get around to writing this story 'til now. So don't blame me."

Hosen gave his former rival a look, but he decided not to make any more comment. Instead, the grey-haired Yato asked, "So, you decided to visit my grave, did you? What brought that on?"

Umibouzu pulled an annoyed face, "I was going to go visit my daughter, but none of them were at that house. So I decided to pay my respects while I wait for those three to return."

"Ah yes," Hosen said thoughtfully, "I do remember seeing someone who was probably related to you the day I died. So glad I'm your second choice my balding comrade."

The other Yato pulled another face and put his hand to his head self-consciously, "I'm not balding, my hair's just thinning. And how is it that you've returned from the dead? From what I've heard, you were satisfied when you died."

Hosen shrugged, "I've no idea what I'm doing back in this world. There isn't much that I can think of for me to do…" Hosen trailed off and tapped a finger on his chin thoughtfully.

"What is it? You find something to do, old rival?" Umibouzu asked after a moment, wanting to know what Hosen was thinking.

Hosen turned to his old, balding rival with a very uncharacteristic grin on his face that sent small shivers up Umibouzu's spine, "I believe I know what I came back here for after all."

* * *

Hinowa watched in silent mirth as Seita was rushing around packing his things into an already over-stuffed bag. He had been invited to Gin's house earlier that week, but the visit had been postponed until today for some reason. Seita didn't say anything in protest, but Hinowa could tell he was just a little disappointed. Had their silver-haired savior been there she would have given him a piece of her mind for making her adopted son sad. But since he wasn't, all she could do was send her negative thoughts his way.

Hinowa was brought out of her thoughts when Tsukuyo came banging through the door. The flaxen-haired Ninja looked at Hinowa and from the look on her face Hinowa could tell that she had something to say.

But before Tsukuyo could get even a word out of her mouth, Seita called out, "Tsukuyo-nee-chan, I'm almost ready to go to Gin-nii-chan's house. We can head out in just a minute,"

Tsukuyo's face softened as she responded, "Sure, I'm ready to go when you are."

A few minutes later, Seita appeared with his bag full to bursting. Hinowa chuckled lightly, and at Seita's questioning look the former courtesan said, "Are you sure you really need all that stuff? You're only staying overnight."

Seita gave Hinowa a withering look that only a son could give to her mother and get away with it, "Of course I need all this, Kaa-chan. Even though it's only overnight, all the stuff I'm bringing is absolutely necessary for staying with those three."

Hinowa chuckled again and said amiably, "I'm sure you'll need all of whatever's in there. I hope you have a good time. You'll tell me all about it tomorrow, won 't you?"

"Of course I'll tell you all about it, Kaa-chan." Seita grinned, "See you tomorrow!"

And with that, Seita and Tsukuyo left, Seita waving goodbye one more time and Tsukuyo saying, "I'll be back soon, Hinowa. Seita, on the way there we should go have lunch. I have a feeling that those three aren't going to be home at the moment." Tsukuyo continued waving until the door clacked shut. She then sat back in her wheelchair and sighed, it was going to be a boring few hours until Tsukuyo returned.

After a moment of wallowing, though, Hinowa heard something that made her jump; a voice that she never thought she'd hear again say, "I thought those two would never leave. That boy always seems to know how to piss me off, doesn't he."

Hinowa wheeled her chair around to see that man leaning against her wall, looking as smug as he always did.

"Been a long time, hasn't it, Hinowa?" he said nonchalantly, as if he were greeting an old friend he hadn't seen in a while, not the woman he'd locked away in that small, cage-like room.

Her eyes narrowed into a confused glare, "What are you doing here Hosen? I thought you were dead."

"Don't be so cold, my dear," the grey-haired Yato smirked, "I came back all the way from that world to see you. It's not every day you get to a visitor from beyond the grave, is it now?"

Hinowa sighed, "No, it's not every day I can see someone long dead. Again, what are you doing here?"

There was a slight pause and then Hosen said quietly, "I was wondering if you'd like to go for a New Year's Shrine visit with me."

Hinowa raised her eyebrows slightly, "But hasn't the time for Hatsumode long past?"

"Probably," Hosen shrugged, "But, there are some things that I need to say to you."

"Ah, I see. But why would you want to go anywhere with this wheelchair bound girl, I'm sure I won't be very good company." Hinowa teased, acquiescing to Hosen's request.

Hosen rolled his eye, realizing that Seita took after his mother in her ability to drive him absolutely crazy. Hosen didn't really remember what he said in response to her teasing, but soon, the two were out the door.

* * *

The walk to the shrine was relatively quiet, neither Hosen nor Hinowa said much to each other. After all, what do you say to the woman you were obsessed with or the man who held you captive for a long time.

The shrine visit was also fairly subdued. She showed him what people on earth usually did during Hatsumode, and he followed what she did. But despite the two not really talking to each other, they both felt a profound sense of satisfaction at their interaction. For him, just being able to be close to the woman he thought of as the sun without her trying to escape from his lingering gaze was enough. And for her, it was enough just to show the man who had essentially saved her from her father the sun that she loved so much.

And then, as the two were leaving the shrine, this guy stepped into their path, stopping their forward movement. Hosen's eyes narrowed slightly, this man seemed to be dead drunk in the middle of the day. Proving the Yato's suspicions, the man slurred derisively, "Well, aren't you two a cute couple. So even an old man can get a date when I can't?"

Hosen, not really wanting to deal with this drunk at the moment said boredly, "I am not her date, young man. If anything, I'm old enough to be her father. Don't insult either of us by insinuating that we are romantically linked."

The drunk huffed, "Yeah right. You can't fool me, I know a couple when I see one."

It was Hinowa who said responded to the drunk this time, "What makes you think we have that sort of relationship? You know nothing about us now, do you?"

The drunk, looking especially annoyed now, growled, "I can see the way you two look at each other. Why else would you come to a shrine at the end of January? The time for Hatsumode had long past after all!"

Hosen rolled his eyes, "You're mistaken. In your drunken state, you mistake regret for love. I am not in love with this woman. I once wanted to keep this sun of a woman all to myself. And now, after a long time in a cold grave, I have come to regret my foolish actions."

The drunk's eyes narrowed even further and he took an aggressive stance (Hosen was amazed that he could do such a thing, drunk as he was), "I don't believe you. I know love when I see it!" and then the man charged at the two.

Hosen, doing what he would normally do, tried to push Hinowa out of the way of the oncoming man. But, forgetting that he was a ghost, his hands just slid right through the wheelchair. Cursing colorfully, Hosen turned just in time for the man to pass right through him.

Once the man realized that he had gone straight through the "lovestruck" Yato, the man turned and paled, "Y-y-you're a g-g-ghost?" he stuttered

Hosen tsk'd, "Of course I'm a ghost. You probably would have noticed that if you weren't so drunk."

The drunk paled even more before vomiting up the contents of his stomach. He then turned around as fast as he could and ran muttering, "That's the last time I drink that much ever again…"

Hosen watched the drunk run off with a bland look on his face. Once the man was out of sight, he turned to back to Hinowa who was looking at him with an amused look on her face. "What is it you find so funny?" Hosen asked after Hinowa continued looking at him without saying anything.

Hinowa smiled prettily, "It's just, I never thought I'd ever you apologize for anything. I think you once said something about being too old to change your ways?"

"Humph," Hosen looked away from the grinning Hinowa, a light blush dusting his cheeks, "I never said any such thing. Besides, I'm a new ghost so that logic doesn't apply."

Hinowa laughed aloud, her smile growing wider, "Who knew you were able to make jokes like that!"

"Tch," Hosen's blush deepened just slightly, "I've always been able to make jokes; you just never wanted to listen to any of them."

Hinowa fixed Hosen with a stern look then, "You know why I didn't listen to any jokes you made back then."

Hosen sighed, "I know…and I'm…" he trailed off like the next work was hard for him to get out, "…sorry." He finally said.

Hinowa smiled gently again, "You really are a foolish man. I already knew you were sorry for what you did. Shall we head back?"

Hosen shook his head after a moment, "There's one more thing I want to do."

The two returned to Hosen's grave and Hinowa got out of her wheelchair and sat down on the ground. Hosen then, looking suddenly very tired, lay down, his head pillowed on her lap. The two just looked at each other, knowing that this would probably be the last time they'd ever see each other.

Suddenly, Hinowa's eyes filled with tears and Hosen's fading hand came up to rest on her cheek. He shook his slightly, and said, "No, Hinowa, that's not the last image I want to see of you. Give me a smile, won't you?"

She nodded and smiled weakly, the lump in her throat making it hard for her to do as the old Yato asked. Hosen clicked his tongue, "I know you can do better than that. C'mon, try a little harder won't you? This is probably my last moment here in this world after all."

Hinowa chuckled and swallowed the lump away, giving the old Yato a dazzling smile. Hosen's features widened into a grin as well, "That'a girl." He said gently as he faded away completely. A tear dropped onto Hinowa's lap where Hosen had been previously. The former courtesan who was unable to smile anymore, began to cry freely now that he had left her again.

* * *

When Hinowa returned to her house in Yoshiwara, Tsukuyo was waiting at the door, looking slightly worried. "Where have you been?" she demanded as soon as Hinowa closed the door.

The black haired former courtesan smiled slightly sadly, "A friend came to visit when you were out with Seita."

"Ah," said Tsukuyo, "I hope you had a good time."

Hinowa nodded, "I had a very good time. I hadn't seen this friend in a long time."

Tsukuyo nodded and then, suddenly, she tapped her fist on her palm in sudden remembrance, "Oh, that's right, I almost forgot. Earlier today I saw Gintoki in Yoshiwara. You'll never guess who he was with."

"Oh?" Hinowa asked curiously, "Who was it?"

"It was that Abuto guy that Kagura had to fight when she was here. And for some reason he was cursed into a female form."

"Ah," Hinowa nodded, "I guess we now know why they had to postpone plans with Seita."

**And that is the end ^_^. I hope you guys enjoyed. I know it's late, but I've had this idea since the beginning of January…I just didn't have the motivation to write it until now…well anyway, this story will probably be similar to the series of Christmas oneshots. Meaning that that this series will be updated during random holidays. Well, that's it for now. As always, if you'd like, please review, I always love to know what you guys think. See you next time, then.**

**-Murayama Tsuru**


	2. On Hijikata and Mitsuba

**Hey guys, Murayama Tsuru here. Here is the second oneshot of this series, just in time for Valentine's Day ^_^ I actually made it on time…unlike New Year's…well anyway, here it is, I hope y'all enjoy!**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama; it belongs to Sorachi Hideaki-Sensei.**_

Okita Mitsuba's wide, reddish-brown eyes blinked open to the figure of her younger brother, Okita Sougo, putting flowers down near at her grave. It was an adorably uncharacteristic gesture for him, so the slightly-darker-than-flaxen-haired sister couldn't help but laugh good naturedly at her usually cold, slightly selfish younger brother's act of kindness.

Hearing the noise, Sougo turned toward the source and his eyes widened almost imperceptibly. Probably no one other than his sister would know that he'd been surprised by the sudden appearance of his dead sister (which wouldn't be unexpected).

After another light chuckle, Sougo asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice, as if he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, "Aneue, what are you doing here?"

Mitsuba smiled at her at her brother, and with a shrug said, "Not sure. I just woke up a few minutes ago. How long has it been?"

With an even more uncharacteristic (to Mitsuba) frown, Sougo paused as a look of pure pain washed over his features. Once he seemed to get control of his emotions, he answered, his voice barely above a whisper, "Too long Aneue. It's good to see you…even though you are a ghost."

With a sad smile, Mitsuba floated over to her brother, and said soothingly, "It's good to see you too Sou-chan." Then, changing the subject, the brown-haired woman said happily, "I never imagined I'd see you bring flowers to anyone. Even though, you're just bringing them to your long dead sister."

Scratching the back of his head, Sougo averted his eyes from his sister's translucent face. After a moment he said, "Today's valentine's day. I didn't really feel like dealing with all those masochistic women vying for my attention at the moment so I decided to bring you flowers to pass the time."

Mitsuba laughed softly at this, "Sou-chan, you're so popular! I'm sure at many of the 'women vying for your attention' aren't actually masochists. I would think you'd have fun competing with the rest of the Shinsengumi to see who gets the most chocolate."

"Yeah, but I won't get any from the person I want it from the most, so it's not any fun."

"Yeah," Mitsuba said with a smile, "And who's that?"

Sougo gave Mitsuba a look that seemed to say she should already know perfectly well that it was her, and said petulantly, "A stupid little red-headed Yato who reminds me nothing of you."

"Oh?" Mitsuba said with a sisterly smile, "I'm amazed Sou-chan; someone's replaced me as your favorite. And she's an Amanto at that; you're full of surprises today aren't you?"

With a sigh Sougo said, "No, she isn't your replacement…but there's someone you'd rather give chocolate to, isn't there Aneue? So, I have no choice but to accept crappy gifts from that noisy little Yato."

At that, Mitsuba blushed deeply and shook her head, but said nothing to deny what Sougo had said. With another sigh, Sougo said, "Fine, Aneue, I'll let him have you for one day. Come on; let's go get him some of that spicy chocolate you used to send us. I'll even try not to lace his mayonnaise with laxative like I did last year."

Sougo then turned and stated to walk out of the graveyard. With a small smile, Mitsuba floated after her younger brother, reveling in the fact that he was doing something for someone else. Mitsuba would have been more than happy to spend the day with her younger brother, but somehow it made her even happier that she'd be able to see him one last time.

* * *

Hijikata sighed deeply and turned his eyes upwards to watch the smoke he'd just exhaled swirl lazily about his room before disappearing into who knows where. He sighed again, reflecting on just how bad today was probably going to be.

Today was the day Hijikata hated more than any other say. It was, in his mind, the worst holiday every created in the history of holidays ever. Yes, today, Valentine's day, was one the only times that his mood was worse than if Sakata Gintoki had decided to make his annoying presence known to the vice-captain of the Shinsengumi.

He didn't used to hate this holiday of chocolates and couples, though. But that was back when she was still alive. Sure he'd made sure to make himself scarce the day her package of spicy chocolate and super-spicy Sembei arrived for the whole Shinsengumi (it was the one time he did not want to deal with Sougo at all). But, he probably ate more of the chocolate than anyone else that day as well.

But now that she was gone, the only gifts he (…and the rest of the Shinsengumi…) ever got on Valentine's day stopped coming. And soon, the holiday became a stupid, painful day for him. It only made him think of Okita Mitsuba and how she'd never grace him with her presence again.

Getting presents from his men or Kondo-san just wasn't the same as getting something from a living, breathing female. And while he could easily reject or attack any of his men for even thinking about giving him chocolate, he couldn't that to Kondo-san. So, every year since Mitsuba's death, Hijikata would get a heart shaped box of chocolates, a card, and the occasional bouquet of flowers from his over-exuberant, stalker of a boss.

Hijikata suspected that these gifts were actually meant for the ever fiery Shimura Tae (somehow the fact that her name was usually scratched out and replaced with his gave it away). But, he could never bring himself to say anything because the look of immense sincerity and tears streaming down his boss's face had him accepting the gifts with an awkward 'thank you' every time. It was a little depressing to Hijikata that Kondo-san didn't seem to know that on Valentine's Day it was the girls who gave the guys presents, not the other way around. But again, Hijikata could not bring himself to say anything in contrast.

With another sigh, Hijikata waited for the inevitable knock at his door that would signify his "gifts" from Kondo-san, meaning that Shimura Tae had once again rejected the moor man. It was a time that he both expected and dreaded every time this year. It had him in the foulest of moods he was ever in for the entire year.

And after a long morning of biting people's heads off for trying to give him chocolate and being in a generally bad mood, this particular interaction was not something Hijikata was looking forward to at all. Even Sakata Gintoki would be preferable to the pathetic Kondo-san today. And that was saying a lot.

But at noon, right on time, the knock came at his door. With another smoke-filled sigh, Hijikata stood up and walked over to the door with a noticeable slump in his step. Once he was at the door, though, his back was straight and the look of resignation that adorned his face was gone.

But, when he opened the door he saw not a crying Kondo-san, but a small box of those super-spicy chili chocolates that Mitsuba used to send them. Bending down, hi picked up the small box and went back into his room.

Thinking that this was some kind of hoax that Sougo was playing on him, Hijikata inspected the box carefully. Sensing no initial prank, he opened the box and popped one of the chocolates in his mouth. Like all the times he'd had this particular brand of chocolate before, he needed something to cool the fire that engulfed his mouth almost immediately after biting into the small candy.

So, bolted over to his dresser and got out a bottle of mayonnaise and chugged almost the whole thing down in one large gulp. Once his mouth almost felt like normal again, he heard a light chuckle. Whirling around to where the sound came from, his mouth was ready to form words of chastisement if Sougo had somehow managed to enter his room without his noticing.

But all words died on his lips when he saw not Sougo, but Mitsuba, standing in his room, looking like she belonged there. Hijikata blinked dumbly, his mouth unhinging slightly, this couldn't be real, could it? Sougo must have put something in those chocolates that was making him see hallucinations of someone that couldn't be there.

But even after he rubbed his eyes vigorously, the hallucination was still there. After another moment of silence, the hallucination began speaking to him, "Toshiro-san, if they were too spicy for you, you shouldn't have eaten any."

Almost at a loss for words, Hijikata blurted the first thing that came to his mind, "You're not a Sougo-induced hallucination are you?"

Mitsuba's ensuing laughter sent tingles down Hijikata's spine, "No, he promised me that he wouldn't play any tricks on you today."

"Wha?" Hijikata said incredulously, "He actually promised you that? What brought on that change?"

Mitsuba smiled shyly, "Well it is Valentine's day, isn't it? So-chan's just being considerate of his older sister is all."

Hijikata, eyes wide in surprise found himself unable to say anything. Seeing this, Mitsuba floated over to him and took his hand, and started dragging him out of the room "C'mon, We don't have all day. Let's go have some fun."

The only thing Hijikata registered was Mitsuba's hand covering his. He didn't quite know how this was possible since she'd been dead for quite a long time now. He could tell by her translucence that she was a ghost. And yet, that small, soft hand was doing terrible things for his concentration.

With noticeable effort, Hijikata finally managed to ask, "Mi…Okita-san, how is it exactly that you're here? I thought you were…dead…"

"I am…" Mitsuba said after slowing momentarily, "But Sou-chan decided to help me out. I believe his words were 'I'll just make sure to get Hijikata-san back tenfold is he does anything indecent to her'. And then, somehow, he managed to find me this Haori of the underworld…though, he did say that we'd have to give it back to the Shinigami before the end of the day…I wonder where he got it?"

"Geh," Hijikata groaned, "that boy is always causing trouble…Mi-Mitsuba, if we get chased by any skeletons wearing cloaks, you can blame your brother." With a chuckle, Mitsuba nodded and then began dragging him out the door again.

* * *

When Hijikata and Mitsuba arrived at their destination, Hijikata blanched, stopping in his tracks, forcing Mitsuba to stop walking as well. When all Mitsuba's efforts to get Hijikata to keep moving failed, she asked, "Toshiro-san, what's wrong? Don't you want to go into the Oedo Amusement park?"

With a slight grimace, Hijikata answered Mitsuba's question with one of his own, "Did Sougo give you those tickets?"

Mitsuba nodded, slightly perplexed, "Yes, he did, why do you ask?"

He shook his head, "It's nothing, I'm just going to have to try harder is all."

Still looking confused, Mitsuba asked, "Try harder at what? If you're worried that Sou-chan is going to play any pranks on you, you don't have to worry. He promised me that he wouldn't."

With a small eye-roll, Hijikata said, "I hope you're right. Let's hurry in before your brother changes his mind."

Mitsuba laughed aloud at that, and the two continued walking to the entrance of the amusement park. Hijikata breathed a sigh of relief when the tickets weren't rejected; maybe Sougo decided that he'd actually leave him and Mitsuba alone for the day…who was he kidding, he'd have to be even more on his guard than he usually was.

But, for the first few hours of their date nothing seemed to be going wrong. But then, as the two were getting onto their fourth rollercoaster of the day, Hijikata thought he felt a murderous glare at his back. But when he turned around, there was nothing.

And then, as they were getting off the rollercoaster, he thought he saw a flash of silver hair and his heart sank. Of course, that sadist boy would recruit the sadist man to help ruin what would probably be the last chance he ever got to see the girl he loved. But, he didn't really want Mitsuba to worry about anything, so he kept his mouth shut.

But then, strange things started to happen to him. Whenever he'd try to hold hands with Mitsuba, someone would 'mysteriously' bump into them or he'd feel that same glare from before. Always, though, when he tried to see who it was, they would be gone, leaving Hijikata wondering. Of course Mitsuba noticed all this as well, but she didn't say anything in case it would make Hijikata more agitated than he already seemed to be.

No threatening went on, but this all seemed really familiar to Hijikata. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but this heckling that he was being put through reminded of something else. Something that, for some reason, had to do with Kondo's boss, Matsudaira, and his daughter.

And then the memory hit him when he and Mitsuba got onto the carousel. Peering behind him, he saw Sakata Gintoki and Sougo crouching behind them, trying to look sneaky and wearing some extremely dumb looking sunglasses.

By then, Mitsuba, wondering what had taken Hijikata's attention away from her this time, turned around and say her younger brother and Gin. Laughing, she asked them, "What are you two doing here? I thought you said you wouldn't interfere today, Sou-chan."

Sougo seemed to shrink back a little, now that his sister noticed him. So it was Gin who answered, "I'm just here because a friend wanted me to keep an eye on his sister and her new boyfriend. Also, that mayonnaise freak can get a date on Valentine's Day when I can't? It's like the world has turned upside down, so I had to check it out."

Hijikata was about to make a snide comment about how jealously wasn't becoming on a silver-haired sugar freak, but Mitsuba interjected before the two of them could get into an argument, a dark smile on her face, "Gin-san, I know you're Sou-chan's friend, but if you continue to interfere, I'm afraid that you'll have an evil spirit on your hands that is more than you would be able to deal with."

With a nervous chuckle, Gin turned to Sougo and said quickly, "C'mon Soujiro, let's go. We're clearly not needed here. After all, it isn't a good idea to poke one's nose into the affairs of a man and a woman."

"It's Sougo." The younger brother said, and Hijikata was surprised when he detected what might have been a hint of dejection in the sadist prince's voice. Sure enough, when the merry-go-round came to a stop, Sougo and Gin got off and began walking toward the exit of the amusement park, leaving Hijikata and Mitsuba to continue the rest of their date peacefully.

* * *

Too soon, though, the day came to a close, and the two were standing in front of the entrance of the Shinsengumi complex, saying their goodbyes. With a visible frown, Hijikata said gruffly, "I had a good time today, Mitsuba."

She smiled softly and nodded, "Me too Toshiro-san. I had such fun today; it made coming back one more time worth it."

Hijikata's frown grew slightly and he took a cigarette out of his pocket. Looking away from Mitsuba to hide his disappointment that she was leaving him again, he fished his mayonnaise shaped lighter out of his pocket. Before he could light it, though, he felt soft lips press against his.

Eyes widening in utter surprise, Hijikata dropped both cigarette and lighter from nerveless fingers, stiff as a board. In the next moment, though, he was suddenly kissing her back, and the two found themselves wrapped up in a storm of unspoken words and unshared feelings.

When the two finally came up for air, Mitsuba had tears sparkling in her eyes and Hijikata was close to crying himself. With a sniffle, Mitsuba took off the Haori of the underworld that Sougo had stolen. Once it was off her shoulders, it slipped through her now translucent skin.

With the setting sun shining through Mitsuba into Hijikata eyes, he had to squint to make her out as she was fading away. Mitsuba's voice sounding like nothing more that the whisper of the wind, Hijikata almost missed as she said, "Goodbye Toshiro-san, I love you…"

If she said anything else, he missed it, his own emotion at hearing her say those words drowning out any other sounds for a moment. When he looked at the spot she had just been in, he saw nothing but the fallen Haori. A single tear streaked down his face as he choked out a horse, "I love you too Mitsuba…"

* * *

When Hijikata trudged back into his room, he saw a sleeping Kondo-san sprawled out on the floor. In his hands were a large bouquet of flowers, a cheesy looking card, and a half eaten box of chocolates. Nudging his boss, though, he didn't wake up right away.

Slightly annoyed, Hijikata said in a voice that was just below a yell, "Kondo-san, get up. You can't sleep here; there isn't enough room for the both of us."

But Kondo-san didn't stir and Hijikata sighed; guess he would be sleeping in a sitting position tonight. With a groan, Hijikata sat down and noticed the box of chocolates that Mitsuba had given him. With a smile, he ate another one of the spicy pieces of candy.

Eyes watering, Hijikata almost missed the note near the box. He picked it up and gaged, it was in Sougo's handwriting, not Mitsuba's: _Hijikata-san, I hope you enjoyed your date with my sister. As thanks for treating my sister to such a good time, I added something extra special to the chocolates she gave you. I hope you have a good night. –Sougo_

Just as he finished reading the note, his stomach gave a nauseating lurch, giving Hijikata a bad feeling that he knew what Sougo had replaced his chocolate with. Another sickening gurgle of his stomach had him running to the bathroom as fast as he could; it was going to be a long night…

**And that is that ^_^ I hope you guys enjoyed. I know I enjoyed writing it. As a note, for those who might not know, on Valentine's Day in Japan, girls give chocolate to guys. The day when guys give a return gift to girls is a month later, that day is called White day. And yes, I know I ripped off the Haori of the Underworld from Kyoukai no Rinne, but I didn't really feel like thinking of my own explanation for how Mitsuba became solid. Well anyway, as always if you'd like please review, I always love to know what you guys think. Until next time then, guys.**

**-Murayama Tsuru**


	3. On Tsukuyo and Jiraia

**Hey guys, Murayama Tsuru here. Here is the next oneshot in this series. As Redguy221 requested, this is a story about Tsukuyo and Jiraia. I wasn't actually planning to do this story next but then I realized that Girl's Day (or Hina Matsuri) was coming up and I got the idea for this story…and then Hina Matsuri passed and I still hadn't finished this story…so yeah, it's a little late…please just pretend that today is March 3****rd****. Well anyway, I hope you enjoy ^_^**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama; it belongs to Sorachi Hideaki-Sensei!**_

Tsukuyo sighed again as she watched Hinowa put up the Hina dolls. She wasn't quite sure why (and she didn't really understand Hinowa's explanation) of why they were celebrating Hina Matsuri. Since the holiday was usually only celebrated when a family had a daughter and they would put the dolls up to ensure that the girl would have a happy life and marriage.

So Tsukuyo decided to ask Yoshiwara's sun again why they were doing this. Last time she checked, Seita wasn't a girl, so this celebration wasn't necessary. After taking a drag on her pipe, she asked once again, "Hinowa, what are we doing this for again? It's not like there's a little girl in our family."

The black haired woman finished putting the doll she had just gotten from Seita onto one of the red, tiered shelves. She then maneuvered her wheelchair around to face the flaxen haired Ninja and said, with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "There might not be a little girl in our household, but there is someone I hope has a happy marriage…perhaps to a certain lazy silver-haired man?"

Tsukuyo's cheeks turned bright pink at Hinowa's statement. She then turned away from the woman who was considered the sun of the underground pleasure city and stuttered, "I-I keep telling you, G-Gintoki's and my relationship is not like that…!"

Hinowa chuckled, "Who said anything about Sakata Gintoki? I'm sure there are other lazy, silver-haired men out there…"

Tsukuyo, turning a brighter shade of pink opened her mouth to say something, anything to make Hinowa talk about something else, but before she could, Seita came running in, carrying another doll, "Kaa-chan, I found the other doll you were looking for. Now we're sure to ensure that Tsukuyo-nee-chan has a happy marriage! Should I call Gin-nii-chan to see if he can come over?"

Tsukuyo whirled around, her face redder than ever and practically shouted, "NO! There's no need to call him!"

Tsukuyo didn't want to say anything more on the subject of Gin coming over or not. But seeing Seita's confused look and Hinowa's amused smile, she felt the need to explain her outburst, "Um…well, you see…I'm pretty sure those three don't celebrate Hina Matsuri."

"Buy Kagura is a girl, isn't she?" Seita quipped, "Why wouldn't they celebrate Hina Matsuri?"

"Well…that's because," Tsukuyo floundered for a minute, "Because Kagura is an Amanto, so she wouldn't know what Hina Matsuri is…?" when in doubt, always play the Amanto card; it will probably work about half the time.

Seita, processing what his sort of adopted sister had said, looked to Tsukuyo as if he didn't believe her lie for a minute. But after a moment, the boy shrugged and went back into the other room to look for any other Hina dolls that had long been gathering dust in the closet.

Once they boy was out of sight, Tsukuyo sighed in relief and Hinowa rolled her eyes, making Tsukuyo flinch a little in guilt. But the black haired lady said nothing and turned back to completing the set of Hina dolls that were slowly being unearthed from somewhere deep in the closet.

Feeling more than a little guilty now, Tsukuyo left the room herself, thinking about calling Gin to see if he and the other two would like to come over to celebrate with them. After all, it would be a good chance for Kagura to learn more about earth customs. Also, Gin probably wouldn't have told her about Hina Matsuri because it involved buying a fairly large amount of rather expensive dolls. And even though, one could buy only one or two of the dolls, that cheapskate Sakata Gintoki was sure to not want to spend any money on that sort of thing.

But before she could dial a single number a voice that almost made the blood freeze in her veins said, "Been awhile hasn't it, Tsukuyo?"

With the phone practically dropping from her nerveless fingers, Tsukuyo turned slowly and saw her teacher, her almost father, standing behind her with an almost unreadable expression on his face. He looked as he did when he had tried to burn Yoshiwara in order to give her a reason to kill her; not the burned out shell of a person she had always known, but the innocent-looking spider of a man who was willing to get his student to hate him so he could die as he had wanted to for a long time. Swallowing hard, the words that left her lips were, "S-Shishou, what are you doing here? I-I thought…"

Before she could finish her sentence, Jiraia shook his head and said, "No, I am not here to try and raze this city you seem to love so much. I woke up, in a matter of speaking, in order to celebrate Hina Matsuri with you."

As a very perplexed expression appeared onto her features, Tsukuyo asked, "But…I thought you told me to throw away my femininity. Why would you want to take part in a celebration that brings out any sort of feminine side of me?"

Her former teacher made a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a scoff, "Yes, I did tell you to throw away your femininity, I thought it was the best thing you at the time, as you would be the one to replace me as the leader of the Hyakka. I imagine that being less aware of your sex has made your job easier. But, that being said, you are like a daughter to me so I want to see you happy, Tsukuyo."

Tsukuyo's eyes widened in surprise, she had always thought of Jiraia as a father figure (that's why his 'betrayal' had hurt so much), but she had never known that he thought of her as any sort of family, he had never let that sort of thing show after all (being the emotionless Ninja he was). So to hear that he came back from the grave to celebrate Hina Matsuri with her almost brought tears to her eyes.

She was about to fling herself into her master's arms (well, as much as Tsukuyo flings herself into anyone's arms) when Hinowa entered the room, "Tsukuyo, we're going to be late for the celebration. I almost forgot about it until one of our neighbors mentioned it, shall we…" the wheelchair bound woman trailed off mid-sentence as her eyes landed upon Jiraia and a Tsukuyo almost in tears.

Blinking, Hinowa turned to glare at Jiraia, "What are you doing here? Haven't you hurt her enough? I thought you died a long time ago."

"I did, as you know," Jiraia responded, "but I came back for Hina Matsuri."

Hinowa's eyes narrowed further, "It's never that simple with you. What are you really here for?"

Jiraia raised his hands in defense as well as a demonstration that he could no longer do anything being a ghost, "Nothing, I honestly came here to celebrate Hina Matsuri with Tsukuyo. I may not have shown it very well, but I did, and still do, think of her as my child."

"How very convenient that you happened to awaken on Hina Matsuri," Hinowa practically growled, then turning to Tsukuyo she said, "Do you want me to find someone to exorcise that ghost from our house?"

Tsukuyo shook her head just slightly, making Hinowa look at her as if she were almost off her rocker. After a minute though, she sighed and addressed Jiraia again, "If you want to spend the day with that's fine. But if I hear one negative thing about your day together, you will regret the day you came back from the grave with every fiber of your being."

Jiraia nodded slowly, a small smile on his face, "Yes Hinowa-san, I will make sure Tsukuyo has a good time. Your wrath is not something I would like to face, I think. I've heard many a rumor that would have made even the great Hosen cringe."

Hinowa gave Tsukuyo's former teacher one last contemptuous look, but said nothing else as eh wheeled herself out of the room. Once the black-haired lady was out of sight, Jiraia turned to Tsukuyo again and asked, "So, what would you like to do today now that we've gotten permission from your sun?"

Tsukuyo chuckled lightly and a small smile graced her lips, "Why don't we go to town? I heard that there's going to be some sort of celebration there."

* * *

Hina Matsuri in Yoshiwara was…different. Usually, families would go to the local Shinto shrine with their old Hina dolls and have them sent out to sea so that any bad luck that the dolls had accumulated over the years would be washed away with the tide, literally. But, since Yoshiwara was an underground 'paradise' there wasn't exactly a Shinto shrine or an ocean easily assessable for the festival…so they had to improvise.

Instead of a Shinto shrine, people would take their old Hina dolls to Hosen's old mansion, which had been converted into a shrine of sorts for occasions that called for a shrine. And instead of sending the dolls out to sea they burned them, as is customary in other Shinto rituals of warding off bad luck.

But there were all types in Yoshiwara, and not all of them thought that buying a new set of Hina dolls every year was necessary (like Hinowa). Those people would set up a display of the dolls, that were made to look like the emperor and empress and all of their courtiers, either before or on March 3rd. If the dolls were kept up any later, they were thought to bring bad luck on the daughter's love life. But since having any sort of happy marriage or life in Yoshiwara used to be an impossibility because of Hosen, both traditions were relatively new to the pleasure city.

Tsukuyo and Jiraia decided to go out and watch the festival for Hina Matsuri in Yoshiwara because Hinowa didn't seem too appreciative of Jiraia hanging around the house. Tsukuyo and Jiraia, though, weren't really crowd people so they watched the festival from the rafters of Hosen's old house.

As the two watched the ceremony, the two began talking about Tsukuyo's life after Jiraia died. Jiraia seemed genuinely interested in how Tsukuyo had been fairing ever since he had tried to burn down Yoshiwara back in volumes 29 and 30.

Tsukuyo, though, didn't really have much that she wanted to say about herself and tried to turn the conversation to her teacher instead. And so the ceremony that the two weren't really watching went, Jiraia asking about Tsukuyo and, to a lesser extent, Sakata Gintoki, and Tsukuyo deflecting her former teacher's questions back at him.

Once the ceremony of burning the bad luck was done, the two, seeing nothing else to do, decided to head back to Hinowa's house. On the way back, though, Jiraia stopped Tsukuyo and disappeared into a shop for a few minutes.

Just as the flaxen-haired leader of the Hyakka was beginning to worry about whether or not her former teacher had left her without saying goodbye, he reappeared with a small paper bag. With a quizzical look, Tsukuyo asked, "What's in the bag, Shishou? How did you buy something, I thought you were a ghost so you couldn't touch anything."

Jiraia smiled slightly, "Actually, before I came to see you, I found someone who could lend me a Haori that could turn ghosts solid. I didn't say anything about it before because Hinowa was sure to not let me see you if she knew that particular detail."

Tsukuyo smiled at that and then Jiraia motioned for her to close her eyes. Once her eyes were shut, she heard a slight rustling and then felt the Kunai hairpin she usually used being pulled out of her hair. Before the hair could fall out of place, though, she felt Jiraia's rough hands put something else in her hair.

Then her former teacher told her that she could open her eyes and when she did, she saw her face reflected in a nearby window. In place of the usual hairpin she wore, was a set of simple black picks that had what looked to be a set of moonflowers on the end of each.

She then heard her former teacher say, "I wanted to get you something as a present, but I wasn't sure what to get you. And then I saw these in that store over there and I thought they would suit you…I'm not…very good at buying things for people…I hope you like it."

Tsukuyo turned to face her teacher then, a smile and a 'thank you' on her lips, but Jiraia was on where to be seen. On the ground, near her feet, where Jiraia had been previously standing were her Kunai hairpins and a silver pipe which was embossed with a swirling design of a moonflower vine.

As she picked up the items on the ground, she heard her now invisible teacher say, "Be happy Tsukuyo, this is probably the last time we will meet." And as a single tear fell from her face, she felt a breeze that was almost like a rough finger try to brush the tear away.

When she got back to Hinowa's house later, Yoshiwara's sun was waiting near the entrance. Without turning around at Tsukuyo's entrance, Hinowa asked, "How was your day Tsukuyo?"

With a quiet sniffle, Tsukuyo answered, "It was the best Hina Matsuri I ever had."

**And that is the end of this story ^_^ again sorry that it was late. Also, I'm not sure how in-character either Jiraia or Tsukuyo were. Jiraia hardly shows up in the Anime/manga, that it was hard for me to get a fix on his character. But I tried…and, I think that I will be updating this series tomorrow as well because tomorrow's White Day in Japan and I already have a story planned for then. So, as always if you'd like please leave a review, I love to know what you guys think. Until next time then, guys.**

**-Murayama Tsuru**


	4. On Tosshi and Toshiro

**Hey guys Murayama Tsuru here. As promised, here is the White Day Oneshot for this strange series of oneshots about dead Gintama characters coming back to life. Yeah, I hope you enjoy it, I tried to make this one a comedy since the other three are rather sad. Well, I hope you enjoy!**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama; it belongs to Sorachi Hideaki-Sensei**_

Hijikata sighed deeply and turned his eyes upwards to watch the smoke he'd just exhaled swirl lazily about his room before disappearing into the atmosphere. He sighed again, reflecting on just how bad today was definitely going to be.

Today was the day Hijikata hated almost as much as Valentine's Day. It was, in his mind, the second worst holiday ever created in the history of holidays. Yes, today, White Day, was one the other times that his mood was worse than if Sakata Gintoki had decided to make his annoying presence known to the vice-captain of the Shinsengumi.

He had always hated this particular holiday, though. And that is because all the men in the Shinsengumi seemed to want to give him chocolate, even though they never got any from him. For some reason, all the men of the Shinsengumi, sans Okita of course, had decided that giving Hijikata the return gifts they would give to the women they didn't have because they equated Hijikata with Mitsuba who used to give them spicy Sembei for Valentine's Day.

Since giving anything to Mitsuba was impossible, and Okita was too scary to give anything to, the men decided to give Hijikata the return gifts instead. And like on Valentine's Day, the demon-vice captain of the Shinsengumi didn't find any pleasure in getting anything from desperate, love-starved guys. It was honestly too weird for him and he didn't want anything to do with this stupid holiday.

And then there was Kondo-san, who always foisted off the presents that Shimura Tae rejected onto him. While Hijikata could easily reject or attack any of his subordinates for even thinking about giving him anything Valentine's Day or White Day related, he couldn't that with Kondo-san. So, on White Day, Hijikata would get a heart shaped box of chocolates, a card, and the occasional bouquet of flowers from his over-exuberant, stalker of a boss.

He could never bring himself to say no to the gifts that Kondo would bring for him, though, because the damn hurt puppy look on his boss's face had him accepting the gifts with an awkward 'thank you' every time (if it had been anyone else, Hijikata was sure he could have said no). It was a little depressing to Hijikata that Kondo-san didn't seem to know how Valentine's Day worked in Edo, but it was even more depressing that the chief of the Shinsengumi would continue his desperate plea for Otae's affections even when he hadn't gotten a gift from her in the first place.

The leader of the Shinsengumi may attempt to give Shimura Tae on every day of the year. But somehow it always seemed the most pathetic on Valentine's Day and White Day. Hijikata could never understand how his boss could even like that gorilla of a woman. But, as the saying goes, love is blind, so Hijikata never said anything, unlike Sougo, who seemed to take way too much pleasure in insulting Otae and Kondo's love for her whenever she wasn't around to kick his ass.

With another sigh, Hijikata waited for the inevitable knock at his door that would signify his "gifts" from Kondo-san had arrived, meaning that Shimura Tae had once again rejected the poor man. It was a time that he both expected and dreaded every year. It had him in the second foulest of moods he was ever in for the entire year.

And after a long morning of biting people's heads off for trying to give him some lousy White Day related gift and being in a generally bad mood, this particular interaction was not something Hijikata was looking forward to at all. Even Sakata Gintoki would be preferable to the pathetic Kondo-san today. And that was saying a lot. Especially since Gin was also in a bad mood on White Day since that was the day he would have to give away his precious sweets (as if, Hijikata thought snidely, that naturally permed idiot probably gave away about as many chocolates as he did, meaning none).

But at noon, right on time as usual, the knock came at his door. With another smoke-filled sigh, Hijikata stood up and walked over to the door with a noticeable slump to his shoulders and a lag in his step. Once he was at the door, though, his back was straight and the look of resignation that adorned his face was all but gone. What replaced the look of resignation was a sort of sad, forced looking smile to greet Kondo-san.

But, when he opened the door he saw not a crying Kondo-san, but an almost mirror image of himself staring at him with an oddly expectant look on his face. Hijikata blinked and rubbed his eyes, hoping that his cigarette smoking had finally caused him to go bonkers and see hallucinations of weird Otaku who should be gone. But, no, when he opened his eyes the shy looking mirror image was still there, looking even shier than usual.

With a slightly irritated noise, Hijikata growled, "What the hell are you doing here Tosshi? I thought I got rid of you a long time ago!"

The Otaku alter ego flinched at Hijikata's tone, making the demon vice-captain even more irritated than he already was; he really didn't want to deal with more ghosts of his past, he just didn't have time for that crap at the moment. Eventually Tosshi seemed to gather his courage and said, "To-Toshiro-shi, I-I just wanted to give you this…!"

Hijikata blinked in confusion as his former alter ego practically shoved a small piece of paper in his hands and then ran away (so much for gaining any of Hijikata's toughness from being locked away inside him for so long). When Hijikata looked at the piece of paper, he turned a few shades redder than he normally did at his angriest; for some reason, his unfortunately Otaku alter ego had decided to give him a ticket to some weird Otaku quest…thing. Hijikata imagined that this was the perfect thing for those hardcore Otaku who didn't have dates (like Tosshi, probably. And him for that matter, but Hijiakta Toshiro was not an Otaku, dammit, so he wasn't into stuff like that).

After glaring at the ticket for a minute longer, Hijikata put it neatly into his pocket (he'd crush it later once he actually knew why Tosshi had given it to him) and started running after his almost clone. Once Hijikata had finally caught up to him, he was out of breath; he'd had no idea that Otaku could run so fast, especially since most of the Otaku he, unfortunately, knew, seemed to have more of a tendency to stay inside rather than go do anything remotely close to exercise.

Tosshi, though, seemed to be tiring as well, so Hijikata was finally able to grab his arm and halt any further fleeing on the part of the Otaku. Once Hijikata had finally caught his breath, he breathed angrily, "What the hell did you give this to me for? I'm not like you, I'm not into this Otaku crap…at least I'm not into it anymore!"

Tosshi looked stunned for a moment, then responded in a voice that was almost a yell, "It's not crap! I thought you'd like to do this since it seemed more you're thing, an outdoor, real-life quest…Also, I-I wanted to give you a thank you for buying the sword my ghost was trapped in all that time ago…I had a lot of fun…"

And then to the demon vice-captain's surprise, tears started shining in the Otaku's eyes. Hijikata sweat-dropped, he hadn't pegged Tosshi as the kind of guy who would cry so easily when someone questioned the present he had given someone…but maybe he should have known better, Tosshi did seem to be more of an emotional type than himself after all.

After an entirely too awkward silence, Hijikata cleared his throat and took out the ticket, "W-well…since these expire today, it'd be a real shame to waste them. W-why don't we go together? W-we can say that we're t-twins…I guess?"

At that, Tosshi's lips spread into a grin so wide that it seemed to threaten to split his face in half. Then, Hijikata's Otaku double took the demon vice captain's hand and started dragging him out of the Shinsengumi complex, "What are were waiting for then, Toshiro-shi, let's get going, we're burning daylight!"

* * *

Hijikata was really beginning to regret going on this quest…thing…with Tosshi. First they had gone to some sketchy looking amusement park-like place and talked to a suspiciously hooded man who told them to step on some "transporter" thing, which had teleported them onto some high mountaintop in the middle of nowhere. On the windswept hill they ended up on, Hijikata yelled, "What the hell have you dragged me into?! I thought this was going to be something simple like a scavenger hunt or something. This, this is more like something out of one of those video games we rip off of all the time."

Tosshi swallowed nervously, and said, "I'm sure everything will turn out fine. With you here, we won't be in any real danger...I think."

Then, to make matters worse, large, probably feral Amanto pets, started attacking them. Of course, Tosshi seemed to be able to do nothing but cower in fear as Hijikata took care of the monsters. But the Otaku did seem to have some use on this 'quest'. For some reason, what they happened to be doing was apparently like a video game that Tosshi had once played so the Otaku was able to navigate them through all the traps and other dangerous things to the final boss (why the place he and Tosshi had been transported to had a final boss, Hijikata did not know).

And then, once they reached the final area, Tosshi remembered that he had never actually beaten the boss in the particular video game this quest was based off of, making Hijikata crunch the last cigarette he had with him into oblivion. Basically on his last nerve, Hijikata was about to walk about to leave this dungeon and attempt to find his way back to the real world where he could end this hellish White Day in the relative peace that Kondo-san didn't bring with him. At the moment, even his desperate, crying gorilla of a boss was preferable to this stupid quest thing.

But, as he was about to leave, Tosshi said something that made him stop in his tracks, "Toshiro-shi, I know you think I'm just causing you trouble…but I heard that if we beat this boss, we'll get something that I'll think you'll like…"

"And what would that be?" Hijikata asked skeptically, eyebrow arched high on his forehead

"Well…" Tosshi started twiddling his thumbs nervously

"Just spit it out already!" Hijikata snapped, his patience for this nonsense 'quest' slipping away faster than ever

Tosshi stopped his thumbs nervous twirling and looked straight up at Hijikata, "If we beat this last boss, then I heard we'll be able to get the last pack of cigarettes that the Hamekians ever made."

"All right, let's get going then. Don't need to let those cigarettes rot any more than they already have." Hijikata said immediately, his sword drawn and ready. Even though the cigarette ban had been removed from the Shinsengumi complex itself, Hijikata still wanted to get those damn Hamekian cigarettes, it had wounded his pride that he had gone through all that annoyance and weak enemies only to be denied his last cigarette because of some stupid technicality!

Of course, though, the last boss, thing happened to be a giant dragon-like Amanto which made it much tougher for Hijikata really wanted it to be. And Tosshi had suddenly become useless in this fight since, as he had said before, he had never actually beaten this boss before.

Soon, Hijikata was beginning to tire since all the other fights had taken their toll on him. Just as he seemed about to lose his energy, though, Tosshi came up with an idea to beat the boss; the Otaku and Hijikata would both use Hijikata's sword for an all-out, four-handed attack.

Honestly, Hijikata thought the idea was ridiculous, but he had no energy left to complain (if they both died because of this idiotic idea of Tosshi's, Hijikata would make sure that the afterlife was hell for the poor Otaku).

But somehow, the plan managed to work, because the next thing Hijikata knew, they were back in the run-down amusement park place, a large pack of cigarettes being placed in his hand. Hijikata, too physically drained from the fighting and mentally drained from this whole strange day accepted the cigarettes without a word. He was, amazingly, too tired to even take one out and smoke it.

The two then went back to the Shinsengumi complex where Tosshi thanked Hijikata for spending the day with him, even though they did 'weird Otaku stuff' and disappeared into the evening air after giving Hijikata a figure of that Sailor Samurai character that Tosshi was so fond of.

Hijikata then trudged back to his room and saw Kondo weeping dramatically in the middle of his floor, a pile of sweets and flowers heaped in a messy pile. Hijikata squinted at his boss, not really wanting to deal with him now. Hijikata turned around and started walking back toward the exit of the Shinsengumi complex; maybe Sakata Gintoki would host him for the night if he explained (and begged and bribed with chocolate and parfaits and whatever else that sugar-freak liked) that Kondo-san was inconsolable on days like today.

**And that is the end of this chapter. I bet you weren't expecting Tosshi to show up! Except you redguy221, because I told you, but I bet the rest of you were surprised! This oneshot is actually the chapter I was planning to write before Redguy221 requested that I do a oneshot about Jiraia and Tsukuyo. The next Oneshot will probably be updated in May, unless there is a Japanese holiday in April which I don't know of. Well…that's all I have to say this time…so, as always, if you'd like please review I love to know what you guys think. See you in May for Boy's Day (or Kodomo no Hi).**

**-Murayama Tsuru**


	5. On Shinpachi and Obi-One

**Hey guys, Murayama Tsuru here. Since tomorrow (today technically, since I'm posting this after midnight) is Kodomo no Hi (children's day), I decided to write something for it. It features the cyborg dude, Obi Hajime, I prefer Obi-One myself. So, without further introduction, here's the chapter…oneshot? Well, whatever you want to call it, here it is ^_^**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama; it belongs to Sorachi Hideaki-Sensei.**_

Shinpachi woke up leisurely at a relatively late hour for him to the smell of his sister's cooking. As soon as the smell of burning omelets reached his nose, the glasses-clad boy sat bolt upright in alarm. He didn't know why his sister had decided that today was a good day to cook, but he had to stop it as soon as he could.

But, when Shinpachi stood up, he realized that he had moved too fast to try and stop his sister and that had resulted in him feeling too dizzy to move. After a few minutes slumped against one of his Otsu posters, Shinpachi was able to move again, cursing silently that his sister decided to cook this morning.

After the boy got dressed, he raced over to the kitchen just in time to see his sister doling the dark-matter eggs onto five plates. Shinpachi wondered, for about half a second, why there were five plates, but realized that he was too late to stop his sister's cooking, so the fact that there were five plates seemed insignificant.

Instead, Shinpachi asked, "A-Aneue, why are you cooking this morning?"

Shimura Tae turned around and gave Shinpachi a sunny smile that had just enough of a hint of darkness to send shivers up her little brother's spine, "Ah, Shin-chan, you're up just in time for breakfast. Since today is Kodomo no Hi I figured that I would treat you to breakfast in bed. But you got up before I could bring it to you."

Shinpachi looking more than slightly distressed that his sister seemed to want to feed him five plates of her dark matter asked, more cautiously this time, "Um…Aneue? If you wanted to give me breakfast, why are there five plates? Even that much might be a little to much for me to handle..."

Before Otae could answer however, a familiar deadpan voice said, "Oi Pattsuan, you're not forgetting about the kids you know are you? It is Kodomo no Hi after all. But of course, the no-good glasses boy would forget that wouldn't he?"

"Yeah, you're so forgetful Shinpachi," Kagura's voice added, "Gin-chan said that today is the day that people are supposed to give us free food since we're kids, uh-huh! How could you forget about that?"

"That's right," Gin's voice agreed, "We came here for Kashiwa Mochi and Chimaki. But instead we got…whatever this is…Otae, were you trying to kill you precious little brother or something? This doesn't really look…"

Shinpachi turned around just in time to see his sister punch his sort of silver-haired boss out the door, leaving a Gintoki-shaped hole in the Shoji that no doubt Shinpachi would be fixing later. Kagura, looking as energetic as always, started laughing as Shinpachi's sister decided to chase after Gintoki, still angry about the crack about how her food didn't look edible.

Shinpachi sighed as he watched his sister and his sort of boss running around the yard, this would just be another regular day for the Yorozuya. But, then, Shinpachi heard something that gave him pause, "You working hard Shin-Bo? Been a while hasn't it?"

Shinpachi turned around and saw the person that he considered to be his big brother, a large grin forming on his lips, "Hajime-nii! What are you doing here?"

Obi-One laughed heartily, "Well, I had to fulfill my promise to you two didn't I? I've come to see you guys again. And what better day to do that than on Kodomo no Hi? That is the point of the holiday right, to spend time with the people that you were friends with when you were kids!"

"Um," Shinpachi sweatdropped, not really wanting to contradict his Nii-chan, but, at the same time, not being able to help himself, "Hajime-nii, I don't think that's quite the point of Kodomo no Hi…"

Obi-One cocked his head to the side and said, "It's not? Then what is the point Shin-Bo?"

Shinpachi shook his head, "No, you're right Hajime-nii, spending time with your friends on Kodomo no Hi is the best."

Hajime-Nii nodded, "I thought so! In order to celebrate this day of friendship, we shall become carps ourselves!"

Shinpachi, caught up in his proxy brother's enthusiasm, said just as enthusiastically, "Yeah, let's do that, Hajime-Nii!"

But, once the meaning of what the sandy haired man said actually sunk in, Shinpachi stopped and said, "Wait, we're going to do what?"

Obi-One turned to his sort of little brother and said, "We are going to turn ourselves into Koi for the day…well, you are anyways. I'm just going to help you gather materials."

"What? But why aren't you going to do it too? Wouldn't it be more fun if we both became carp?" Shinpachi said, whining slightly because he would be the only one to look like a complete weirdo.

Hajime-Nii gave a small sigh as his smile became slightly less bright than it usually was, "Well, I would but, as you can see, I can't really do much of anything except float around. I tried to get a Haori of the underworld, but the Shinigami that allowed me to come back for the day didn't seem to want to lend me his. Something about too many people using it or something like that."

"Oh…" Shinpachi said as it actually hit him that Obi-One was not actually among the living anymore (he hadn't been for a long time, in fact). It was then that Shinpachi noticed the slight translucence that his almost older brother had.

Sensing Shinpachi's distress over the fact that he had just realized that Obi-one was a ghost, the man said, "But dressing up as a carp doesn't really matter to me. As long as I can spend a day with you and keep my promise, that's fine."

Shinpachi nodded, his smile returning once again. The glasses clad boy then turned to the yard where Gin and Otae had stopped their game to watch the interaction between the boy and the cyborg ghost. Otae, who was now smiling softly, nodded her head in approval that Shinpachi could go with Obi-One.

Gin, on the other hand, just looked bored, so Shinpachi felt compelled to ask, "Gin-san is it ok if I spend the day with Hajime-Nii?"

At that, Gin raised an eyebrow and said, "Why wouldn't it be ok? It's not like I can stop you or anything."

Shinpachi pursed his lips, "I know, but I just thought that I'd ask anyway. You and Kagura-chan seemed to want to spend the day with us is all."

Gin stuck his pinky in ear, "Well, that's where you're wrong. I came here for the free food. Everyone seems to think I'm a kid anyway, so I figured 'why not? If they think I'm a kid, they'll give me sweets right?"

"Thank you very Hamnida, Gintoki-Jokutou." Obi-One said with a grin

Gin pulled a face at that, "There you go with your weird sayings again, Obi-One-Jokutou...You two better leave before I'm subjected to anymore of those."

Shinpachi gave Gin a grateful smile and turned to leave with his sort-of big brother. But as he was leaving, Gin called out, "But now that you're leaving with Obi-One over there, I figure that I'll just make something for myself. I think I'll make it my mission to keep your sister out of the kitchen for the rest of the day. We don't need to make anyone sick after all."

Shinpachi chuckled softly and the, before his sister could turn her reignited wrath on him or Hajime-Nii, the two ran out the door just as they heard Gin say only slightly apologetically, "Can't you take a joke…? I swear, the women on this show are just so violent!"

Once Shinpachi and Obi-One were sure that they were clear of Otae, they began searching for the stuff they would need for Shinpachi to become a carp. At first, Obi-One had suggested that Shinpachi strip down to his underwear and then find someone to draw carp scales on his skin.

Shinpachi rejected that idea soundly and immediately, stating that it would make him closer to a certain gorilla captain of the Shinsengumi and Shinpachi didn't want that at all. So, the sandy haired man began tapping his chin thoughtfully as he tried to think of something else that Shinpachi could do.

But, just as Obi-One thought of something, he seemed to stiffen suddenly. Confused, Shinpachi asked, "Hajime-Nii, what's wrong?"

The sandy-haired man's eyes narrowed slightly and he put a finger to his lips. He then turned around and pointed to a short Amanto that looked something like Yoda wearing a mask. Shinpachi rubbed his eyes, hoping that his glasses were just fogged up, not liking what he was seeing at all.

But, when he took his hands away from his eyes, the Yoda like creature was still there, prompting Shinpachi to say, "I thought all those guys were gone? What's one doing here?"

Obi-One shook his head and shushed the glasses-clad boy, "I don't know. Why don't we follow him and see what's he's up to."

Shinpachi nodded in agreement, thankful that he wouldn't have to dress up like a Koi fish at the moment, and the two began to follow the Yoda-looking dude in a ski mask. It wasn't a very exciting task though, as the guy seemed to stop in every tourist spot in Edo, causing Shinpachi to feel rather impatient with the Yoda-like dude for taking time away from his and Hajime-Nii's day together; though, he tried his best to hide it, since Hajime-Nii seemed to be having a good time as he hadn't really had all that much time to explore Edo the last time he had been there.

After a while longer, the Yoda (I don't actually remember what they were called in the Gintama canon, so I'm just gonna keep calling them Yodas), stopped and said, "You two have been following me for a while? What is it you want from me? If it's money, I don't have any, I spent it all during this festival as you could probably tell as you were following me."

Obi-One responded, "I want to know why you're here. I thought you guys gave up on Earth after your plans with me failed."

At the sound of Obi-One's voice, the Yoda turned around and asked, mildly surprised, "Kenofi? What are you doing here? We were told you died."

"Well, it's Kodomo no Hi and I wanted to spend it with my little brother. You still haven't answered my question."

The Yoda shrugged, "I'm here for the same reason as you are then. Festivals on Earth are such fun that I couldn't help myself."

Obi-One, shrugged, as though he thought that the Yoda-like dude was probably telling the truth and that leaving him alone was probably a better idea. Shinpachi on the other hand, still angry for what this group of Amanto had done to his sort of older brother growled, "Hajime-Nii you believe this guy? After all the things that they have done to you?"

Obi-One shrugged again, "C'mon Shin-Bo, let's go. I've already died twice so there's no point on dwelling on it any longer. Besides, this guy clearly isn't here to blow up the earth like he was last time. Let's go enjoy the festival, I bet I'll be able to find someone who can make you into a splendid carp."

Shinpachi's eyebrows narrowed in consternation, he didn't understand why Hajime-Nii wasn't angrier about what had happened. But, since his older brother figure said he didn't want to worry about it anymore, Shinpachi decided to let it go.

As the two were walking away, though, the Yoda guy spoke up one last time, "I know you may not believe this Kenofi, but not all of us wanted to use you to destroy the earth. There were some that actually wanted to save you just because. But we were a vast minority, so our voices were never heard when our group was making its plans."

Hajime-Nii didn't say anything further, but Shinpachi could tell that the Yoda's words had touched the sandy-haired man. The two sort of siblings then went back to finding a way to make Shinpachi into a living representation of a Koi.

Once Obi-One had found someone who was willing to paint koi like scales on Shinpachi and had forced the younger boy to walk around in his new 'outfit', the two made their way back to the Dojo in relative silence.

Of course, Shinpachi was mortified that people had seen him in his underwear with fish scales painted on him, but that wasn't really the reason for his silence. He knew that he probably wouldn't see Hajime-Nii again after this, which made the glasses clad boy pretty sad that the day had gone by so fast.

When the two finally reached the Dojo, Obi-One said, "Well, this is Shin-Bo. I probably won't be seeing you again after this. But, I had fun."

"Me too, Hajime-Nii." Shinpachi said after a moment of trying to keep the tears that were threatening to come out in check

"Now don't you start crying on me Shin-Bo." Obi-One said after a minute, "Remember what I told you about how the best Samurai are the ones who laugh even when the want nothing more than to cry."

Shinpachi suppressed a sniff, "I know Hajime-Nii, but…I don't think I'm at that level yet."

There was a pause and then Obi-One said quietly, "Me neither Shin-Bo. But I don't want the last image of this world to be my little brother's crying face. I won't be able to rest in peace until I see a smile."

Shinpachi's eyes widened at that, amazed that Obi-One would admit he couldn't always smile either. Then, once he was able, Shinpachi looked up at Obi-One with a grin that almost threatened to split his face in half.

In response, Obi-One smiled back and said, "That's how to do it little brother." And he faded into the sunset. Shinpachi, smile fading a little now that Obi-One was gone, turned back to the Dojo walked in, one final tear sliding down his cheek, "Bye Hajime-Nii…"

Once Shinpachi was back in the Dojo, he was greeted with a large tray of sweets and two passed out girls around the table. Looking around, Shinpachi said quietly, "Gin-san where are you?"

"Out here," came Gin's response, "decided that the Koi at night were the best. But, those two fell asleep, so I've been watching them by myself."

Shinpachi took some of the sweets and joined his other sort of brother on the porch. Shinpachi handed Gin one of the sweets and then looked out at all the Koinobori fluttering in the night time breeze, "You're right Gin-san, this is the best."

The two watched the fluttering Koi in silence for a while, sans the chewing noises from eating the Mochi. Gin then turned to Shinpachi and with a badly suppressed snort said, "Why Pattsuan, I didn't know you were into that exhibitionist stuff. You're becoming more and more like that gorilla of the Shinsengumi."

**And that is the end ^_^ I don't know how well I did Obi-One since he's only in three episodes of the Anime, so his personality isn't all that developed in my opinion. But, I tried my best. I hope you guys liked it ^_^ Also, I don't know how many more of these I'm going to do…one because I don't really know of that many other Japanese holidays and two, I'm running out of characters…maybe I'll do something based off of the old lovers in that Sadasada arc for Tanabata. What do you guys think? Well, as always if you'd like, leave a review I love to know what you guys think. See you next time ^_^**

**-Murayama Tsuru**


	6. On Kagura, Soyo, Suzuran, and Maizo

**Hey guys, Murayama Tsuru here. I have returned from my vacation in nice, cool Ireland, to humid, hot summer back at home…at least the house has air conditioning ^_^ And since it will soon be Tanabata, here's a story for that ^_^ it's a little different from the other's in this series…I hope you like it ^_^**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama; it belongs to Sorachi Hideaki-Sensei.**_

"Bye Gin-chan," Kagura called out, her umbrella open in one hand, a full-to-bursting bag in the other, "I'm heading out now to se Soyo-chan. See you tomorrow."

Just as Kagura somehow managed to open the door without breaking it down completely (seeing as both her hands were full), Gin came out of his room, looking sleepy, "Where exactly are you going now?" He asked, poking a finger in his ear

Kagura turned around, looking at Gin like he was a complete idiot (which is how he pretended to be for sure), eyes narrowed and said, "Don't you remember?"

Once it was clear that Gin had no idea what Kagura was talking about, she rolled her eyes and said, "Yesterday I told you that I was going to go visit Soyo-chan today and celebrate Tanabata with her, uh-huh. I even asked you if you wanted to come with me, since Soyo-chan invited you and Shinpachi as well. But you waved me off and told me 'go do whatever it is it by yourself, brat, you're interrupting my Jump time!', uh-huh"

Gin blinked the rest of the sleep out of his eyes as he vaguely remembered Kagura telling him something like that yesterday while he was reading his Jump manga. Gin blinked again and said, "Well, you shouldn't have told me that important bit of information while I was reading Jump. Had you told me later, I probably would have agreed to come with you. Did you tell Shinpachi about this? You do know that we're probably still considered wanted criminals in the Shogun's palace, don't you?"

Kagura pouted, making Gin roll his at the fact that she had thought of none of these things and made the plans anyway. But all Kagura said, after the gears of thought seemed to be attempting in her head was, "Well, my offer that you could come with me has expired. So, I'll see you tomorrow."

And before Gin could say anything else to make sure that she wasn't doing anything reckless (and therefore causing the Yorozuya trio to dig their grave deeper than it already was), Kagura was out the door and it clacked shut in Gin's face. Once it was clear that Kagura wasn't going to come back anytime soon, Gin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping that Kagura would stay out of trouble today.

Once Gin's worrying was done, he wandered into the kitchen and said aloud, to no one in particular, "Well now, I guess it's time for me to get ready for our new year's party, it's sure to be a big hit this year…"

* * *

When Kagura arrived at the Shogun's palace, the guards looked both suspicious and fearful of Kagura. They knew that the young Yato girl was friends with Soyo-Hime, but, at the same time. They were also there when she and the other four tried to take over the castle, and therefore, were suspicious of her motives of being here at the moment.

As Kagura got closer she shouted, "Soyo-chan, I'm here!" making the guards wonder what that meant.

But, before they could even think about an attempt to bar the red-head's entrance the large, gaudy palace, Soyo-Hime herself came out and called back, "Kagura-chan, I'm glad you came!" the black haired princess then came down to the guards and nodded to them to open the door.

The guards looked a little leery about opening the gates for fear of what this red-headed girl might do, but when they took another look at Soyo-Hime to see if she was sure she wanted to let Kagura in, the slightly cold look on her face told them all they needed to know and they opened the gates without hesitation.

Once Kagura was inside the gates, she dropped her bag to the ground and raced over to Soyo. As the two embraced in a friendly hug, Soyo said, "I'm so glad you could make it Kagura-chan. I was afraid that Gin-san wouldn't let you come because of that incident a while ago."

At that, Kagura grinned shrewdly, "That's why I told him about out plan while he was reading his Jump manga, uh-huh. He'll say 'yes' to anything as long as it gets you to leave him alone while he is reading. It works with almost everything, uh-huh!"

Soyo laughed softly, "I hope he wasn't too mad at you Kagura-chan. Shall we go make our preparations for Tanabata?"

"Oh, don't worry about Gin-chan;" Kagura huffed as she retrieved her bag from the ground, "I'm sure he's too busy getting his new year's party ready to be mad at me, uh-huh."

As the two friends walked back into the palace, Soyo asked, "What new year's party plans? It's the middle of summer; don't you celebrate Tanabata today like we do at the palace?"

"Exactly," Kagura responded, "we like to celebrate the New Year in the middle of summer, uh-huh. So, Gin-chan is probably getting ready for this year's party as we speak. I'm sure it'll be a big hit this year, uh-huh."

This made Soyo's brows furrow at how little sense that made. But, she decided not to question it, as celebrating the New Year was probably something many common people did; she still had a lot to learn about the ways of the commoner after all. So, with a small shrug, Soyo resumed her chat with Kagura about Sukonbu and Tanabata.

Kagura and Soyo spent the day both preparing for their Tanabata celebrations that evening and talking about things that they thought girls would talk about…meaning things that Gin had told Kagura that girls didn't talk about (and things she didn't really understand, but felt compelled to talk about because she was told not to).

And then, once they had exhausted their well of things to talk about, the two decided that they would play a game instead. The first thing that came to either of the girls' minds was tag. But, after playing that for a while one of the Shogun's servants told them that tag was a dangerous game to play in a palace with many breakables and that Soyo-Hime should know better than to play such a dangerous game indoors in the first place.

So, instead, the two decided to play hide-and-seek instead. But that was also cut short after a while as Sasaki Isaburo found Kagura first and 'reminded' her of how dangerous it would have been to her if the captain of the Mimawarigumi had thought that she was an enemy and not one Soyo-hime's friends.

So, after some more thinking between the two of them, Kagura suggested that they play kick the can. Soyo paused and then said with a quiet sniff, "But…we don't have enough people to play that game…"

It took Kagura about a second to realize that kick the can reminded Soyo-Hime about her former caretaker, Rotten Maizo, who had died (maybe, it's a little unclear whether just Suzuran or the both of them died at the end of that arc…). Seeing her friend looking down about how that bastard Sadasada had manipulated many people back in his day, Kagura said cheerfully, "Soyo-chan, since we're outside now, why don't we play tag again. I'm sure that they can't yell at us now, uh-huh!"

So, the two began to play tag once again, despite there being only two people, to get both their minds off what had happened in the palace not that long ago. And, before the two knew it, it was evening and it was time for the Tanabata celebration Kagura had come here for in the first place.

Even though Tanabata was usually celebrated at a street festival, the Shogun thought it best that Soyo and Kagura not leave the castle in case there was anyone who recognized Soyo and decided to do something untoward to her; the Shogun converted many of the palace grounds into what he thought of as a typical festival in Edo.

There were food stalls, game stands and all sorts of amusements for the two Kagura and Soyo to enjoy thanks to the Shogun's love for his little sister (even though he thought she should act more like a princess, he was willing to allow her one day to celebrate as a regular girl).

Once the two had almost exhausted themselves, the servants brought out a large pot full of bamboo so that the two could make their Tanabata wishes. After the two had attached their wishes to the bamboo, they decided to call it a night and go to bed.

As Kagura was passing by the bamboo, though, she saw that Soyo's wish paper said that she wished for Jiiya and his princess to be happy, and suddenly Kagura felt bad; she had wished for Sukonbu and for Gin-chan to let her eat as much as she wanted…

So, when the two friends were alone in Soyo's room, Kagura whispered, "Soyo-chan, I saw your wish earlier and I have an idea."

Soyo yawned widely, and asked sleepily, "What is it Kagura-chan?"

"Let's put out some Sake and Takoyaki so that those two can have something good to eat if they meet each other tonight, uh-huh. I'm sure that if Orihime and Hikoboshi can meet tonight that those two can as well. Also, there have been a lot of appearances of ghosts in Edo lately, so I bet those two will come around too, uh-huh."

Too tired to make any sort of objection to Kagura's plan (and not really knowing what she was talking about), Soyo nodded sleepily and the two snuck out to the kitchen to get the Sake and leftover Takoyaki. Once they were put out in an obvious place for the two lovers, Soyo collapsed and Kagura brought the futons outside to the 'offerings'.

Feeling too wired to sleep, Kagura planned to stay up and see if Maizo and Suzuran would come; but after a few minutes of waiting and staring at nothing but the starry sky, Kagura's eyes began to droop and soon the red-headed Yato collapsed onto her futon fast asleep and snoring gently away.

Later, though, a slight sound woke Kagura from her slumber. At first, she didn't open her eyes because she thought she had imagined the sound, but when she heard it again, her eyes flew open and she thought someone might be coming in to Sho-chan's castle to steal something.

Kagura only sort of registered that she and Soyo had somehow been transported back to Soyo's room as she wandered sleepily to where she thought she heard the sound. When she arrived at the source her eyes widened at who she saw and she decided to hide behind a door in case she was spotted (even though she had wanted to see those two in the first place).

Outside were two much younger versions of the courtesan, Suzuran, and former Shogun Sadasada's retainer, Rotten Maizo. For some reason Kagura didn't feel like interrupting the two lover's conversation, so she stayed hidden and listened.

The two were talking about how unexpected it was that they were brought back on Tanabata and how it was too bad that they missed seeing anyone that they knew that night. Suzuran made the suggestion that they go look in on Maizo's charge, but the old retainer shook his head and said, "No, Soyo-Hime-sama needs her sleep. Besides, I'm sure she's doing fine, after all she has those people looking out for her even after this poor old man could no longer take care of her anymore."

Kagura heard Suzuran shake her head, "You may not be able to take care of her anymore, Maizo-sama, but you'll always be looking after her. It was our time after all. But, maybe after another year has passed and the Milky Way Bridge connects this world and the next, you'll be able to see her one more time."

There was pause and then the old retainer sighed, "I'm sure you're right. Shall we go? Now that we've eaten what the girls have offered us, it's time for us to depart this world for another day."

Kagura blinked, suddenly feeling exhausted again, and as her eyes drooped heavily and she practically collapsed onto the floor, she saw the two old lovers ascending a translucent bridge into the sky.

The next morning Kagura awoke once again in Soyo's room, happy about what she had seen last night and yet sad that she couldn't share really share it with Soyo (talking about it only got so far), so after she left the Shogun's palace, as there was much to do after a festival and Kagura would be in the way, she returned to the Yorozuya.

Kagura opened the door to a messy living room with Shinpachi and Katsura passed out near an overturned Kotatsu and Gin sitting serenely a ways a way reading this week's Jump once again. When the silver haired man heard the door shut, he looked up at Kagura and asked, "How was your Tanabata sleepover?"

Kagura nodded appreciatively at the mess that had been made and answered, "It was fun, I got to see Suzuran and Jiiya one more time, uh-huh. How was the New Year's party? Sorry I missed it, uh-huh."

There was a pause and then Gin said, "Well, I'm glad you had a good time. We really seem to have ghost problem here in Edo, though, you'd think they'd all want to come during Obon like all ghosts do…Oh well, this is Edo after all. The New Year's party was great, it really is too bad you missed it. We made sure to eat all your Sukonbu." At that, Kagura half-playfully punched Gin in the arm and after Gin rolled his eyes and rubbed his arm in half-mock-pain, he went back to reading his Jump.

**And that is the end of that…I'm not sure it turned out very well…I hope this story isn't too bad…as I said it was going to be different from the others…well, I guess that's all I have to say at the moment. I think, that there will be one more chapter to this story during Obon and then this set of oneshots will end. As always, if you'd like please leave a review, I love to know what you guys think. Well, see you next time then.**

**-****村山鶴**


	7. Obon's the Best Time for Ghosts toAppear

**Hey guys, Murayama Tsuru here. Here's a oneshot –thing for Obon. It's celebrated around this time of the year (or August 18****th**** or the 7****th**** month of the lunar calendar). I hope you enjoy ^_^**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama; it belongs to Sorachi Hideaki-Sensei.**_

"Oi," Shinpachi said, annoyance clear in his voice, "are you guys ready to go yet? If you two take any longer, we're going to be late."

"Oh, quit your whining," Gin said coming out of his room, looking as ready to go as he usually was "it's not like we're really going to miss anything; it's just the Obon festival. It's not like you haven't already said hi to your dead friend, obi-one earlier. Really, there's been a huge problem with ghosts in Edo this year."

"I know that it's 'just' Obon as you said, but Aneue will be really mad if we're late…"

Gin pulled a face at the thought of Shinpachi's, scary, older sister being mad and called out, "Kagura, would you hurry up? At this rate, we're going to be late!"

Shinpachi rolled his eyes, but didn't have the chance to say anything because Kagura came out, a Yukata half tied sloppily and said, "I would hurry up, but I don't know how to tie my Yukata, uh-huh? Health me, Gin-chan?"

Gin sighed and, as he was walking over to Kagura said, "It's help me, got it? Next time, wear something you usually wear so it won't be a hassle to us…"

As Gin was tying the Obi to Kagura's Yukata, Kagura frowned, annoyed at his previous snipe at her choice of attire. But instead of commentating on Gin's comment about her attire, the red haired Yato said, "Gin-chan, why are you so good at this? This doesn't seem to be something that guys should know how to do isn't it, uh-huh?"

The silver haired Samurai paused in his tying of Kagura's obi and scowled, "Then why did you ask to do this if you think that it's not something a guy should do?"

Feeling like teasing Gin for once, Shinpachi said, "But Gin-san, you didn't answer Kagura-chan's question. I also want to know why you're so good at tying an Obi; you might almost be better than my sister."

Gin's scowl deepened and he went back to tying the Obi while muttering something about how when Katsura was little, he liked to dress up in women's Yukata because Shouyou-Sensei thought he looked cute. And then, Kagura's Kimono was tied and Gin stood up and practically shoved Shinpachi and Kagura out the door.

Once the other two Yorozuya members were out of the house, Gin turned off the lights and closed the door. As Gin was jogging down the stairs, he thought he heard someone say, "…help…us…", but when he paused to look around to see who had asked for help, he couldn't see anyone, making a small shiver run up his spine (he really didn't want to deal with any more Spiri…I mean Stands at the moment).

Deciding that he was probably just hearing things, Gin shook off the feeling that someone was watching and continued down the stairs where Shinpachi and Kagura were waiting with a mixture of impatient and worried looks on their faces. Gin raised an eyebrow that seemed to say, 'Well, what are you waiting for?' and the three began walking to the annual Edo Obon Festival.

* * *

"You're late." Otae growled to the three Yorozuya members who were standing sheepishly before her, "What took so long? You almost missed the whole festival!"

Shinpachi, being the only one able to find any words said, "Well, Kagura-chan was having a hard time tying her Obi…so we were a little late…"

"Yeah," Kagura agreed, "I was having trouble so Gin-chan helped me, uh-huh!"

Otae gave the studiously silent Gin a look, but before Shinpachi's older sister could say anything, Shinpachi spoke up. "But, Aneue, we did bring food with us."

Shinpachi realized he'd made a mistake only when his sister responded, a hard glint in her eyes now, "Oh, so you don't want to eat the food I made for you all?"

Feeling a drop of sweat (that had nothing do with the heat that had yet to dissipate into the night) trickle down his neck, Shinpachi said cautiously, "N-no…that's not what I meant at all….We brought food with us s-so you wouldn't have to do so much work…Th-that's all A-Aneue…"

"That's right," Kagura said, coming to Shinpachi's defense for once, "All we wanted to do was spare you too much work, uh-huh."

With a quirk of her eyebrow, Otae stared Shinpachi and Kagura down for a second and then asked, "Well Gin-san, did you guys bring food so I wouldn't have to do any work?"

Seeming distracted all of a sudden, Gin gave a noncommittal nod of his head and an unfocused yes that didn't satisfy anyone who was listening. But, instead of wasting more time arguing about food, Otae said with a sigh, "Well, shall we head in, I'm sure we'll have more fun if we don't just stand here. But, I will be talking to you about this later, Shin-chan."

With a gulp Shinpachi nodded and then the tension seemed to break and Kagura felt that she could now chatter away with Otae like she usually did when they were together. As the four were walking along, Shinpachi noticed that Gin was walking a little ways behind the rest of them. So, the glasses-clad boy fell into stop with his sort-of boss and asked, "Gin-san is something the matter? You seem distracted."

Gin, still distracted didn't say anything until Shinpachi prompted him with a, "Gin-san, are you listening?"

At that, Gin jumped and turned to Shinpachi, hissing, "Don't scare me like that, Pattsuan!"

Looking slightly affronted, Shinpachi said, "Well, I was just asking you what was wrong. No need to snap at me…"

Gin sighed, "Don't worry about me, just go join the other two. I've never really liked Obon anyway, so don't mind me and have fun."

Shinpachi gave Gin a look that said he wasn't going to go anywhere anytime soon, but Gin shooed the glasses-clad boy away with a hand gesture and Shinpachi gave up and returned to Kagura's and his sister's meaningless (to him anyway) conversation.

Once Shinpachi was not out of eyesight but out of earshot, Gin turned to an invisible someone beside him and growled, "Would you leave me alone, I'm trying to enjoy the festival, but you're making that rather hard. You did see how I reacted to Shinpachi's question didn't you?"

"Yes, in fact, I did see how you reacted." Said the voice of the ghost, who had still chosen not to materialize, nonetheless, though, Gin recognized the voice, "But, you weren't listening to me earlier, so I had no choice but to ask again; help us."

Gin's eyes narrowed, "I never thought that you'd be asking me for help Yaou, we weren't exactly friends when we were alive, you know."

"I am well aware of that," Hosen replied finally materializing next to Gin, "but no one else seems to hear me and you, I've heard, have the most sensitivity to paranormal activity."

Giving up, Gin sighed and asked, "Well, what is it you want from me?"

Without preamble, Hosen said, "A Shinigami has been going around and capturing the weaker spirits and we need your help getting them back. The Shinigami even managed to capture Jiraia somehow, if you can believe that."

"In that case, I doubt that I can help you out very much. Besides, wouldn't you be more effective against a Shinigami. Being a Yato and all would probably make you the best candidate."

Hosen sighed as if he were talking to a child, "I already tried that. And clearly it didn't work if I'm asking you for help. Shinigami can only be defeated by the living, so I've heard. If you don't help me out, your Sensei will most likely be very disappointed in you."

At that, Gin's eyes narrowed even further into a more predatory gaze as he growled, "And how, exactly, would you know that?"

Hosen only laughed and then began floating away, a crooked finger beckoning him to come along. Growling softly, Gin began wandering in the direction Hosen had went (the ghost Yato had already disappeared), pissed that he was actually doing what his once-enemy had asked of him.

As he made his way to wherever Hosen was leading him (appearing every once in a while to see if Gin was actually still following him), he ran into Kagura who was stuffing her face with Dango. Kagura blinked and asked, mouth full, "Gin-chan, what are you doing here, uh-huh?"

Gin rolled his eyes and was about to say that he was here enjoying the festival when Kagura, who had swallowed now, continued speaking, "And don't tell me something like 'enjoying the festival. You look too tense for something like that, uh-huh."

Gin cursed silently, having forgotten how sharp Kagura actually was and said, "Fine, I was following a ghost who said that other ghosts were being terrorized by a Shinigami…it sort of almost makes me want to change my loyalty from Ichigo to Naruto if you know what I mean…"

"No, I don't really have any idea what you're talking about, uh-huh." Kagura smiled, looking innocent "But, ghosts in trouble doesn't sound good to me, especially during Obon! So let's go help them out, uh-huh!"

Gin mumbled something about how Kagura should really pay attention to the other Jump Manga as she was a Jump character. But, at Kagura's insistent look, Gin gave up trying to lecture her and the two tried to get back onto Hosen's tail.

When they finally caught up to the old Yato, Kagura and Gin found themselves in the now-dark woods, the only light coming from the reflection of the moon on the nearby river. Hosen was watching the two Yorozuya members approach, and unreadable expression on his face. When Kagura saw the old Yato, she turned to Gin and said, "Are you sure he wasn't lying to us? He and my dad used to be enemies, uh-huh. Should we really be trusting him?"

Hosen, clearly having heard Kagura's question said, "Yes, indeed, should you be trusting me? I am the one who tried to block the sun from Yoshiwara forever after all. Who knows whether or not I'm plotting something now. Perhaps, I'm the Shinigami capturing all spirits."

"Whatever," Gin said, "you're probably not the Shinigami, you don't seem to be the type to just lock any random person for no reason. They would have to be Yoshiwara's personal sun for you to do that."

Hosen raised an eyebrow and Gin raised one in return that seemed to say, 'Well, am I wrong?'. Hosen sighed after a second of staring Gin down and said, "Yes, that's very true. Hinowa has not yet died, so I wouldn't go around trapping random spirits. But, this is where the Shinigami has brought all the other spirits."

"Why would the Shinigami do that, uh-huh?" Kagura asked the obvious question

"Because he's mad that so many spirits are coming back to life to visit loved ones and using his Haori."

"You got that right," a voice made both Yorozuya members and ghost turn, "What right do those spirits have to ask me to use my Haori? Don't they know that it's only supposed to be used for official Shinigami only? It all started with that Shinsengumi boy, he forced me to lend it to his sister and all these requests just came flooding in. I've had enough! I'm going to capture all the dead characters of Gintama and force them to watch as their loved ones dance float candles down this river for them as they know they can't move on and they can't do anything to change their fate!"

"Wow," Gin commented nonchalantly, "You sure like to talk a lot. Your evil plan doesn't really sound that evil, though, just kinda annoying. Just goes to show that you really shouldn't let the Shinsengumi bully you into lending them your stuff."

"Yup," Kagura agreed, glaring at the Shinigami, "especially to that sadist! Besides, who would want to prevent ghosts from moving on anyway, uh-huh?"

"Not prevent," the ghost sniffed indignantly, "just delay so that you guys get that I don't want to be lending out my Haori to anyone anymore!"

"A selfish Shinigami to be sure," Hosen said, looking bored, "If only you'd learn that ghosts meeting with their loved ones one last time wasn't a bad thing, you'd probably be more than happy to lend out your Haori."

"I wouldn't have any problem lending my Haori to ghosts who had just died that wanted to make their peace with the world. But you guys seem to want to come back after your 49 days have long passed to say goodbye! Don't you know the rules!?"

Before anyone could give an answer to that, music started up far away, making Gin curse, "Damn, they've started the Bon-Odori already. We'll have to hurry before they finish and start the candle floating."

"Ha!" the Shinigami shouted gleefully, "You're too late for that, I've already captured all the spirits who asked for the Haori! Now all I have to do is—"

The Shinigami's speech was cut off with a yelp as Kagura shot at him with her umbrella-gun growling, a fierce glint in her eyes, "Where's the key?"

Gin looked at the girl Yato, a mixture of amusement and confusion on his face as he asked, "Kagura-chan, what are you talking about? What key?"

Still shooting at the Shinigami, Kagura said, "He said he captured the spirits, so that means he locked them up right? Then that means there must be a key, uh-huh!"

Gin really doubted that a Shinigami would be so foolish as to lock spirits up with a simple key, but before he could say as such, the Shinigami gasped and said, "H-how did you know about the key?! I made sure not to say anything about it!" making Gin sweatdrop at how silly this whole encounter was.

Kagura, smirking and striking a pose said haughtily, "Of course I knew there was a key, uh-huh! I'm smart after all!"

Gin sighed, thinking this was getting ridiculous and said, "So, why don't you just hand the key over to us and go on your way so we don't have to beat you up, ok?"

"Never!" The Shinigami shouted, looking slightly desperate now, "I want ghosts to know that I'm not going to lend my Haori to just anyone anymore!"

Gin sighed wearily again, thinking that this was the last time he ever wanted to deal with ghosts (Stands) again and said, "Then you leave us no choice. Kagura, cover me."

Gin drew his Bokuto and charged at the Shinigami who seemed to be surprised that anyone would even try such a thing in the first place. Raising his sword, as he got close enough Gin thrust it toward the Shinigami's neck.

The Shinigami, now panicking, attempted to dodge the blade, eyes closed in fear. But, once he didn't feel the searing pain that usually came with a sword blow, he opened his eyes and saw that Gin's Bokuto had missed him by an inch. Grinning haughtily, the Shinigami sneered, "You missed, foolish Samurai. Now all you can do is watch!"

"I don't think so," Gin said, a lazy grin forming on his lips as well, "on the contrary I hit my intended mark." The silver haired Samurai then pulled his sword in a downward diagonal and the Shinigami felt a piece of fabric slip off his frame.

With a shout, the Shinigami cried, "No, not my Haori! That's what was keeping me solid!" (yes, I know that's not how Rinne's Haori works, but I decided to make my rip-off my own invention…sort of…)

"Yep," Gin said, grin growing wider, "that was the idea. Yaou-kun, it's your turn."

Hosen, who had understood where Gin was going the moment he had charged at the Shinigami floated to said dude and a dark smile crossed his lips, "Well, now I guess it's time to hand over that key isn't it?"

Hosen raised a fist and brought it rushing down toward the Shinigami at alarming speed (to the Shinigami anyway). But, before the blow could connect, the Shinigami held up a key and said, "Fine, take it! Just don't hurt me!"

"Ok," Hosen said, opening his fist and claiming the key, "now, where is the cage."

Whimpering, the Shinigami pointed in the direction of where he had locked up the other ghosts. Hosen then floated in the direction the Shinigami had pointed, studied the area for a minute and then put the key in an invisible hole and turned.

There was a flash of light and then the area was filled with ghosts that both Gin and Kagura did and didn't know. Once of them, a sandy haired woman that Gin recognized to be Okita Sougo's sister, Mitsuba floated over to the two of them and bowed, "Thank you so much for saving us." She said, making both Gin and Kagura feel shy about what they had just done.

Gin, finding his tongue first said, "Nah, don't worry about it. This is what we Yorozuya do on a regular basis."

Kagura nodded in agreement, but before she could say anything, the beat Shinigami said, "Hey, can't you give me back my Haori now? I've learned my lesson, ok!"

Gin turned to the Shinigami with a scowl, "No way are you getting this back now. I'm gonna keep it and lend it to any ghosts that come my way."

The Shinigami scowled, but said nothing, knowing what would happen if he tried to take it back. Gin then turned back to Okita Mitsuba but saw that she was no longer there. He then heard that the music from the festival had stopped and said to Kagura, "Well, I guess it's time to meet up with the others again."

"Uh-huh!" Kagura nodded enthusiastically, "I can't wait to tell Anego about this, uh-huh!"

"Yeah, sure, I bet she'll really believe you, 'uh-huh'." Gin mocked with a grin

Kagura scowled, but before she could retort, a large crowd of festival-goers appeared, wondering what the two were doing there early. Once Shinpachi found them he hissed, "Where have you two been? You missed the dancing."

"Well," Kagura retorted, "we were busy, uh-huh!"

"With what?" Shinpachi said with a skeptical look on his face

"We happened to be fighting off a Shinigami who decided to capture all the spirits in the area and force them to watch their loved ones lighting candles for them all while knowing they couldn't move on." Gin said, looking dead serious enough to make Shinpachi think he was joking.

Falling for the trick, and also not really listening to Gin's excuse, Shinpachi said absently, "Sure you did…wait, what did you do?" he then asked, processing what his sort-of boss had told him.

With a lazy smile, Gin said, "I'll tell you about it later." And then turned back to the festival, feeling that he could actually enjoy it now that all the Stands were gone.

**And that is the end of that! I have decided to do one more chapter on December 31****st**** just to wrap up the year with this series , because I really was 'great' at starting the year with it, wasn't I? And with that announcement out of the way, I'll see you guys for the next update. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated as I love to know what you guys think.**

**-****村山鶴**


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